Mass distribution: Cristaline surpassed Ricard in terms of turnover for the first time

Inflation shuffled the cards. To the point of dethroning Ricard from its place as the number one selling product. Over the past twelve months, it is a pack of six 1.5-liter bottles of Cristaline, selling on average for between 1.10 and 1.50 euros, that has ranked first among the top references in terms of turnover on the shelves of large retailers, according to the NielsenIQ Institute. “This event! Since we made our calculations, that is, ten years, Ricard has always ranked first in the ranking in terms of value, ”said Nicolas Léger, director of analytics at NielsenIQ.

In particular, the turnover of a water bag amounted to 302.2 million euros against 301.1 million euros for an anise drink, while a liter bottle is sold at an average of 20–22 euros. We are talking about “the summer period last year, which was very long and very hot, which contributed to the consumption of bottled water,” the expert recalls. And all this against the backdrop of a sharp rise in prices for these goods (on average + 10%).

Among beverages, it is also one of the most inflationary categories. And even if Cristaline has raised prices, it remains “the cheapest, most affordable,” he continues. Therefore, many consumers have returned to this brand. In volume terms, its sales grew by 11.6%, proving that some of them are not ready to give up bottled water yet, despite the environmental impact.

Nutella is still popular

Ricard’s second place in the liter does not mean, however, that the French have turned their backs on him. Against. “In physical terms, it amounted to +8.4% in the alcoholic beverages market, which, nevertheless, decreased by 4%. Great performance,” says Nicolas Léger.

Because despite the inflationary context, consumers still want to treat themselves. If the top 10 for all products is still dominated by liquids, and Coca-Cola (a 1.75 liter bottle) is third in the ranking in terms of value, then in sixth place we find a kilogram can of Nutella. When drinks are excluded from the ranking, this link comes first, followed by a 375-gram box of Ferrero Rocher cheese and Caprice des Dieux.

“Of course, with inflation, consumers go somewhere less, go to restaurants less, cut their expenses,” the expert comments. But not everyone is ready to give up certain foods. pleasurelike Nutella. In real terms, sales of the latter increased by 28.3% compared to last year.

” Alcohol abuse is dangerous to health, use in moderation “.